Upgrade ideas please

[SinaiSound]

I'm starting a grad job soon so I'll have a bit more money coming in, so I'd like to upgrade my av system. I heard a Cyrus / B&W system the other week which sounded fantastic, which is part of the reason I want to upgrade. The main use is for watching DVDs.

Current setup:
28" Philips Widesreen
Yamaha DSP-A5
Tannoy MX4, MXC & M2.5
Paradigm PDR-10
Pioneer DV-575

The first thing I want to upgrade is the tv, to a 32" LCD, but I'm unsure about how I should go about upgrading the audio.

Should I buy a decent amp to replace what I've got? I thought about a second hand Denon, a 3805 perhaps? But would be pointless with the speakers I've got? What about adding to what I've got with a power amp?

But would I be better off getting some new speakers first? The amp does pretty much everything that I want. So perhaps new speakers would be better?

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I can't help but think that you've commented on how good a Cyrus based system was, then talk about buying an AV amp.
My experienced with AV amps really hasn't been great. So much so that I now watched movies using just the stereo.
I think you need to make a decision about what you're trying to achieve, ie. a decent stereo or a good AV system, they really are quite different.

 

[gt_junkie]

Hi Hefner,

I'm pretty much going to echo Mr_Sukebe.

If stereo's the sound you like then it'll do the job for movies (granted minus the surround!!!) and sound totally awesome with music!

If you like the Cyrus B&W sound then go for that or something similar. Demo some stereo kit locally and then shop around. I own a few Cyrus items and like you have been mightily impressed! Plus, if you were willing to buy second hand you can make a decent saving.

I bought a power amp, pre amp and cd player for £1200 when the highstreet price was closer to £2300.

Also, the cyrus kit is designed to be modular. You could buy a stereo system then add a surround processor that will directly integrate into the system. Each unit can even be connected in line so that as say the source on the preamp is switched to CD the cd player will turn on!

I decided to go this route (stereo then surround) and it really paid off - although i got a Yamaha AX1 surround amp as i wanted a little more grunt!

Have you considered using your A5 to power the centre and rears and let whatever stereo hifi kit you buy do the rest?